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Europe’s hard line on GM

Preventing farmers from growing genetically modified crops just got a lot easier in the European Union. Member states previously had to justify proposed bans with scientific evidence of potential harm to health or the environment. But now, rules passed on Monday mean bans can be invoked for a host of other reasons.

Swiss ice breaker

Switzerland officially submitted its post-2020 climate action plan to the UN this week, making it the first country to do so ahead of the international climate summit in Paris in December. It plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to between 70 and 85 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.

Kew Gardens cropped

The UK government must urgently give the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London more financial freedom to protect its scientific research, after almost 50 scientists were made redundant there. The recommendation came in a report by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, published on Wednesday.

Orbital explosion

In space no one can hear you boom. A US military satellite has exploded after 20 years in orbit. The DMSP-F13 satellite was launched in 1995 to gather weather data for the air force and navy, but was no longer in full-time operation. Its power system overheated at some point in February, blowing it to smithereens.

Emotional popcorn

Trying to shed the pounds? Think twice about that tearjerker. Moviegoers across seven US cities who watched the sad film Solaris ate an average of 55 per cent more popcorn than those watching comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding, say researchers from the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab (JAMA Internal Medicine, in press).